Crystal Clear
by NeonSocks321
Summary: Post-Movie. Crystal Lutz is just an ordinary girl, if you call an invisible, wound-healing girl ordinary. Recruited as the seventh Avenger, Crystal must learn to live and fight with the team, especially when their old enemy come around. Rated T for action. No swearing, though.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! I'm back with a new story. Sorry I haven't posted anything. I've been really busy. Well, I hope you like it!**

* * *

I ran as hard as I could, my feet pounding against the grey, cement sidewalk. My short, brown hair whipped my face as I ran. My lungs burned from running, they felt like I was on fire, but kept going. Sprinting down the sidewalk, I could hear my Converse-clad feet slapping the ground.

I turned the corner, my eyes darting around the empty streets. The shops and restaurants of my small town were closed between the rush hours, so it was quiet and peaceful. The sun was shining and there was a slight breeze; the perfect day.

Well, not for me.

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the three men who had been chasing me had not slowed down. They were all dressed in black tie suits, dark shades completing the look. The one on the far right had a buzz cut and a grimace on his face, probably from when I had kicked him in the shin. The one in the middle had greasy, blonde hair and looked bored. On the far left, the larger man looked the most imitating.

I looked away from the men, pumping my arms harder. Looking for a quick escape from the men, I slipped into a small alley and kept running. The alley widened as I kept running and, eventually, I had to turn around a small bend.

_Maybe they won't fit._ I myself was a small person, an 80 pound, five foot seventh grader, and I barely fit through the alley between the local library and Jewel Osco. The men chasing me were bigger than me and might not fit.

I came to an abrupt stop, gulping up the garbage scented air of the alley. Putting my hands on my knees, I leaned forward, trying to catch my breath. Trying to quiet my breathing, I listened. I could hear shoes slapping against the pavement. Peeking around the corner, I saw the three men had fit through the alley.

Letting out a breath, I started to run again, trying to avoid the garbage scattered around the alley. I panted hard, a cramp forming just below my ribs. Grimacing, I pushed myself to go faster despite the pain in my side.

_Just keep running,_ I told myself, sidestepping a small puddle. _You'll lose them eventually._ I knew I wouldn't though; I wasn't a very good athlete, and I was already losing energy.

I glanced behind me to see that the three men were quickly gaining. I pumped my arms faster, trying to get ahead, but it was no use.

_Come on..._ I urged myself, desperate to think of something.

_Turn invisible,_ a part of me offered.

_I don't have enough energy,_ the sensible part of me thought. Without responding, I stopped running as the alley finished off.

Dead end.

"Crap," I whispered, still panting. I looked around for any means of escape, but there were none. The brick wall in front of me was too tall to climb and there were no doors to go into the nearby shops.

I turned around to see that the three men had caught up and had closed off the only exit. It didn't seem like they were tired; none of them had broken a sweat.

"Ms. Lutz." The man with the buzz cut spoke, his voice rough like sandpaper. I gasped for air, eyeing the men suspiciously.

"Yeah," I finally managed, my hands on my knees. "What about it?"

"We need you to come with us," the blonde haired man informed me. I straightened up, still trying to catch my breath. Thankfully, the cramp in my side had vanished.

"What if I don't want to?" I replied, putting my hands on my hips. "I'm not too keen on having your scientists poke and prod me."

The blonde smirked. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way." I sighed.

"How did I know you were going to say that?"

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**Tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Fury's called us for a meeting," Steve Rogers said, walking into the common room of the newly rebuilt 'Avengers Tower'. Tony Stark was lounging on the white, plush couch, channel surfing, while Bruce Banner tried to explain the concept of emailing to Thor Odinson. "He said it's urgent."

Tony snorted, moving past the Cooking Channel. "He thinks everything's urgent." Steve sighed at the stubbornness of the genius.

"Where's Natasha and Clint?" he asked Bruce, referring to the two assassins. The shabby scientist looked up at the super soldier.

"Um, Natasha's in her room and Clint is on a mission in Brussels," Bruce responded before turning back Thor. "It's an easy way to communicate to others."

"Can you not just speak to the person in person?" the Asgardian asked, clearly confused. Bruce sighed.

"Well, it's easier to email people if you aren't with them," he explained.

Steve sighed, exasperated. "Guys, Fury needs up. Now," he added when no one made a move to get up. "He sa-"

He was cut off as Natasha Romanoff walked into the room and said, "Fury needs us." All three men immediately stood up and made to go. No one wanted to upset Natasha; she was deadly when irritated. Steve, however, wasn't that threatening.

* * *

As the five team members walked down the halls of the SHIELD Helicarrier, agents let them pass easily. Some of the newer agents even gawked at them; they were legends ever since they had defeated Loki.

The five turned into a conference room where Director Fury, the head of SHIELD stood. They sat down around a large, glass table where they usually sat when Fury called meetings.

"What do you need this time, Pirate?" Tony smirked, propping his feet up on the glass table and leaning back in his chair. Steve sighed at the immaturity of the man and the nickname he had made up.

Fury ignored Tony and said, "I have some news for you. Come with me." The director strode out of the room, his trench coat billowing around his ankles. Steve shot Bruce a questioning look. The scientist just shrugged.

* * *

Fury lead the five team members into the interrogation sector of the Helicarrier. There was a total of four different interrogation rooms. Only one of them were in use, so it was pretty empty. There were two scientists who were staring at computer screens, monitoring something. The two agents that manned the doors were there, as usual.

Fury lead the team to the third interrogation room. An agent was standing by the door that opened up into the room. The team passed by the man and walked into the open, yet small, interrogation room.

In the center of the room, slumped in a plastic chair, was a small, unconscious girl. Her bobbed, light brown hair hung in from of her face, obscuring it from view. She was wearing a black North Face over a simple t-shirt and tattered jeans. A pair of worn out Converse covered her small feet.

"Who's that?" Tony asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"This is Crystal Lutz," Fury began. "A thirteen-year old orphan who-"

"Why is this fair maiden unmoving?" Thor interrupted, putting his hand on his chin.

"She's unconscious, Thor," Bruce explained.

Thor frowned, his brow furrowing. "Why?"

"That's a good question," Steve agreed, turning to Fury. "Why _is_ she unconscious?"

Fury opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a shuffle from the center of the room. Everyone turned to see the girl, Crystal, waking. She looked around, confused, until her eyes landed on Fury.

"Nice to see you again. How'd you get me here this time?" She stood up, stretching her arms.

"Johnson had to knock you unconscious," Fury stated, holding his hands behind his back. "Now, Ms. Lutz-"

"It's Crystal. Not _Ms. Lutz._" Crystal rolled her eyes and then turned them over the the five team members, who had beens standing in silence. "Who're you?"

Fury started, "This is-"

"You don't know who we are?" Tony burst out, appalled. "The Avengers?"

Crystal though for a moment before shaking her head. "Doesn't ring a bell."

Tony's jaw dropped. "Earth's Mightiest Heroes? The attack on New York? Aliens? Anything?" Crystal shook her head.

"Nope. Sorry."

"Well, you must have heard of me. Tony Stark. Iron Man. Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist." Tony grinned, cheekily.

"Look, I don't know who any of you are," Crystal began. "So shut up." Tony's jaw dropped in disbelief. He took in breath to say something, but quickly changed his mind.

Natasha, who had been leaning against the wall in silence, walked over to Crystal and sized her up before saying,"You just shut up the infamous Tony Stark." She smirked. "I just might like you."

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**Okay, that's chapter 2. Don't worry, the chapters will get longer. The beginning is just shorter. **


	3. Chapter 3

**I'd like to make a quick note about the POV of this story. If it's in first person(I, me, us) then it will always be from Crystal's POV. Sometimes, it might be in third person(he, she, they). In that case, it is probably following one of the other Avengers, but not in their POV. Just to clear things up if they were confusing. **

**Also, I know Crystal is only thirteen and because of that can't get shipped with any of the Avengers, but there's a reason for it. And there won't be any shipping between her and an Avenger. **

**And now, onto the story!**

* * *

I examined all the people in the room. There was Fury, obviously, who I had met already. I also knew Natasha; the fiery redhead has been the first agent who had tried to 'collect' me. And then there was that Tony guy. The three other men, however, I did not know.

There was a blonde man wearing a plaid shirt. He stood straight and proper, like he was going to meet the Queen of England or something. Yeesh.

Next to the blonde stood a brown haired man in a purple shirt and worn out jeans. He stood with his shoulders slouched like he was embarrassed.

The third man had shoulder length blonde hair and _huge_ muscles. He had his brows furrowed like he was thinking really hard. The weird thing about him, however, was the clothes he was wearing. It looked like he worked at Medieval Times.

"So, what do you want this time?" I asked, directing my attention back to the eye patched man. I leaned back in my chair, crossing my legs and folding my arms over my chest. "And make it quick. I've got to get back before curfew. Mrs. Franklin's gonna yell at me if I stay out late again."

"Ms. Lutz-"

"Crystal."

Fury sighed. "_Crystal_, I wanted to talk to you about something. It's called the Avengers Initiative." Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Tony, Natasha, and the rest of the men exchanged looks.

_It's probably something to do with them,_ I realized.

"What's that?" I asked, playing with the zipper on my jacket.

"SHIELD has recruited the 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes', as Stark phrased it, to protect the world." I stood up, and paced the room, chewed on the inside of my lips, thinking.

"So, it's like a superhero squad?" I clarified.

Fury nodded and said, "SHIELD would like you to be part of the team."

"Wait." Plaid Shirt stepped forward. "_Her?_ An Avenger?" He glance at me. "No offense or anything, but she doesn't look very...well, _threatening_."

"Yes," Knight-in-Shining-Armor agreed. "She would never stand a chance against the mightiest warriors of Asgard. She is puny." Fury opened his mouth to say something, but I beat him to it.

"Well, _she _can hear you, for your information," I retorted, glaring at the buff man. I quickly turned my gaze over to the other blonde, who had taken a step back. "And I can be pretty threatening when I want to."

"Ha! You guys just got burned by a..." Tony stopped talking when I turned around and gave him the stink eye.

I looked over at the fourth man, who looked impressed, yet a little scared. "Got anything to add?" He shook his head. "Good answer." I smirked and looked over at Natasha. She was suppressing a smile.

"Uh, sorry," Plaid Shirt apologise, avoiding my gaze.

"It's fine." I plopped back down into the chair. Turning to Fury, I said, "So, about this Avengers thing?"

Fury, who apparently didn't get distracted easily, answered, "I want you to join the Avengers, a team with the world's best superheroes." I thought about it for a moment.

"Team?" I finally asked. "Who's on it?" I looked over to where Natasha, Tony, and the other three men were standing. The men were all exchanging hushed comments while Natasha leaned against the wall, expressionless.

"Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, and two of the greatest spies SHIELD has ever seen."

"Who're they?" I wondered, balancing my chair on its back legs. I heard a gasp coming from Tony.

"You don't know who any of us are?" he asked, genuinely stunned. "Don't you watch the news?"

"Stark, if you keep interrupting me, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Fury said, clearly irritated.

"What kind of a seventh grader watches the news?" I retorted, ignoring Fury. "It's boring. I have heard of Captain America, though." Plaid Shirt perked up, looking slightly surprised.

"You have?" he asked.

I nodded and replied, "Yeah. He's in textbooks and stuff. World War II." The man looked embarrassed as he rubbed his hand against the back of his neck.

"Bit of a cream puff," I muttered under my breath. I looked at everyone in the room, my mind racing.

_Well, they're probably all on this 'Avengers' thing. Otherwise they wouldn't be here,_ I realized. _Fury did say there were six people, though. Where's the sixth?_

"So, Ms. Lutz, will you join the team?" Fury asked, looking at me with his good eye.

"You could've just sent me an email or something," I suggested, putting my hands behind my head. "Why go through all the trouble of 'collecting' me if you just wanted to ask me a question?"

"_Ms. Lutz."_

I tilted my head to the side and looked up at the ceiling, thinking about his question. I didn't really know much about the team, or who was on it, but I bet it had to be better than where I was before this whole thing.

My thoughts trailed to where I had lived before SHIELD found me: the Franklin Foster Home in Colorado. My mom had died when I was three and my father had abandoned me as a baby. I didn't have any siblings or extended family, so I was sent to Franklin. It wasn't much, just a normal foster home. There were about twenty other kids running around the place, but, despite the number of kids, I didn't have any friends. They all though I was weird, except one girl, a shy, redhead named Kitty. We became fast friends and were now as close as sister.

Focusing back on the present, I decided that I didn't want to go back to Franklin. I opened my mouth to answer Fury's question, but a huge explosion cut me off. Everyone whipped around to look out the door of the room. From the view, I couldn't see anything, but I could hear the commotion out the door.

Fury put his hand up to his ear and listened to something before saying, "It's Loki." The faces of the adults in the room were full of emotion, ranging from surprise to confusion, from worry to determination.

They quickly ran out of the room, calling things back and forth. I jumped up out of my chair, stopping Fury before he followed the others.

"Wait, what's going on?" I asked, confused. "Who's Loki?"

Fury shook his head. "You should watch the news more often." And with that, he ran out of the room, holding his hand up to his ear and barking commands into it as he went. I stood in silence for a moment, before finally running out into the hall.

Outside the interrogation room, there was pandemonium. There was a gaping hole in the side of the Helicarrier. A deafening wind ran through the air, whipping my hair around my face. Agents and scientists were running around, some towards the wreckage, some away.

I pressed myself against a wall as an agent ran past me. I pushed my hair out of my face, but it was no use; the wind just messed it up again. That was the worst part of having short hair: I couldn't put it up to keep it out of my face.

Zipping up my jacket, I trekked my way through agents and scientists towards the wreckage, looking for the source of the trouble. I stood on my tiptoes and looked out into the sky, thinking to see a classic, nicely-dressed man, but, instead, I saw a flash of gold and green before a jet flew away in the sky.

I sighed, dropping back down to flat feet and watched to jet speed away until it became a dot in the sky. All around me, people were still rushing around, jostling me, bumping my shoulders. I was about to turn around and go back to the interrogation room when I heard a shout.

"Help!" I looked over at the gap in the Helicarrier, where I heard the voice coming from. I pushed through the mass of people and ran to the opening in the ship. I looked out over the edge and, though my whipping hair, I could seen an agent, probably a junior, his hands gripping the edge of the wall Helicarrier. His body was flying in the air. Beads of sweat lined his hairline from holding on.

"Someone help me!" he yelled again. I was about to move forward to help him when someone rushed past me, hitting my shoulder and knocking me to the ground. Luckily, I was standing by a crate, so I could stop my fall. Looking to see who it was, I saw Plaid Shirt, but he had changed and was now wearing a red, white, and blue spandex suit. On his right arm, I recognized a red and white shield with a star in the center.

Captain America. I recognized him from the history textbooks from school.

_He's much shorter in real life_, I thought as he ran over to the struggling agent. He grabbed the man's arm and tried to pull him into the Helicarrier, but the agent slipped and fell out.

I gasped as the captain jumped out after the man, grabbing his arm and a loose wire at the same time. He struggled up the wire, pulling himself and the agent into the massive ship. The two collapsed to the ground.

"Wow," I said softly. "Maybe not a cream puff."


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry about the late update, guys. I've been kinda busy lately. I hope you like the new chapter!**

Crystal's POV

The five Avengers and I stood in silence in the elevator going up to the top floor of a huge building in New York, apparently called the Avengers Tower. Natasha stood leaning against the wall, her arms crossed and a blank expression on her face. Tony had pulled out his StarkPhone and was now fiddling around with it. Thor, Bruce, and Steve, who I had been introduced to by then, stood next to each other in the middle of the elevator, silent. I stood on the left side of Steve, my hands in the jacket pockets of my North Face.

Sighing, I looked over at Thor. His shoulder-length, blond hair hung limply around his face. I found it weird he kept it long, but it suited him. I still didn't get his clothes though; it looked like he belonged in a fairytale or something.

Furrowing my brows slightly, I turned my gaze over to Steve. I still didn't know much about his, just that he seemed really uncomfortable around other people.

_Probably just anti-social,_ I thought, noticing the man's tapping foot. _Yeah, definitely anti-social._ I still didn't know why he was on the team though. Actually, I didn't know why anyone was on the team. Fury hadn't told me. Actually, I could see why Natasha was on it. She was the best when it came to fighting.

I looked over at the elevator door to see that we were only on floor 65. 32 floors to go. I sighed again, louder this time. Steve glanced at me, but quickly turned his head back front. I smirked a little. Rolling my ankle, I coughed loudly. This time, Tony also looked at me, obviously annoyed. I bit back a grin; I loved bothering people.

Sighing, I crossed my arms. Then, I uncrossed them, restless in the cramped elevator. I looked around the elevator, which was slowly approaching the 97th floor.

"Are you guys always this quiet?" I finally asked, breaking the silence.

Tony sighed loudly, turning towards me. "You know, you're really annoying."

"Thank you."

"Do you ever just shut up?" Tony asked, clearly annoyed.

I grinned and replied, "I could, but it's more fun to bother you." I heard a soft cough and look to my left. Bruce and Steve was suppressing smiles. Standing next to them, Thor was staring at the buttons on the elevator, confused. I wondered why he would be so confused by an elevator, but I didn't question it.

_Ding._ The elevator doors slid open, and I walked out, glad to have more space to move. I was slightly claustrophobic.

Right outside the elevator doors was a short hallway. The walls were an off-white color, paired with the blood-red carpet beneath my sneaker clad feet. A small chandelier hung from the ceiling, lighting up the hall.

_Wow,_ I thought, impressed. _Someone's got cash. _Because I lived in a rundown foster home, I wasn't used to nice or fancy things. The fanciest thing I saw at Franklin was the monthly trip to the frozen yogurt store.

Walking down the hallway, I ran my hand along the wall. Then, I remembered that the rest of the 'Avengers' were walking behind me and let my hand drop to my side.

"You think this is impressive?" Tony asked, clearly seeing my amazement. "Just wait." I didn't say anything, but kept walking, nearing the end of the short hall. I turned left and suddenly stopped. My jaw dropped at the sight in front of me.

A huge room was laid out in front of me. On the nearest wall to me was a giant flat screen, surrounded by a mass of white, plush couches. A clear, glass coffee table sat in the middle of the couches, holding a pile of magazines. On the opposite side of the room, there a kitchen, complete with a stove, coffee pot, and island. On the east side of the room, instead of concrete, huge, glass windows covered the wall, letting in sunlight. On the final wall, there was a small bar, filled with different types of alcohol. A gigantic chandelier hung from the ceiling, its delicate, hanging lights glittering in the sun.

I stared at the room, speechless. What I had seen in the past minute was more than I had seen in my entire life. Franklin was so run down that they couldn't afford anything nice.

I whipped around, facing the five adults behind me. Tony was smirking while Steve and Bruce watched my reaction. Thor looked confused, as usual, and Natasha's expression was unreadable. I directed my gaze right towards Tony.

"Have you ever heard of charity?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, guys! I'm back! Sorry it took so long for me to update.  
Okay, I changed my mind. Sorry guys. In this chapter, I'm going to write from several peoples' POVs. Also, I've gotten a few questions from people about when this takes place. It's a post-movie fic for those who asked. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. I love getting reviews from you guys. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or Loki or SHIELD. I only own Crystal and the plot. **

Crystal's POV

"What?" Tony asked, confused.

"A charity," I repeated. "You know, an organization the accepts money for-"

"Yeah, I know what a charity is, kid," Tony interrupted, clearly annoyed. "But why'd you say 'ever heard of a charity'?" Steve smiled a little, exchanging looks with Bruce.

"What is this 'charity' you speak of?" Thor asked rather loudly. I leaned back a little at the power in his voice.

"First of all, don't call me kid." I stared at Tony. "I'm thirteen. And I asked that because it's obvious that you've got a lot of money. And by the looks of your _tower_-house, you don't donate any of it!" I faced my palms up, cocking my head slightly and made my _Duh!_ face.

Tony opened his mouth to say something, closed it, and then opened it again. "Well, someone's sassy."

I ignored him and slowly walked into the huge room, turning my head to look around the room again. The rest of the adults around me followed, most of them strolling over to the couches and lounging. Tony, however, walked over to the bar to get a drink before sitting down on a long white couch next to Steve and Thor.

"So, kid," he started, taking a sip of his drink. "How do you like here?"

"Don't call me kid," I said quickly, ignoring Tony's question.

"Whatever, kid," Tony replied, leaning back on the couch. He swirled his drink around, the ice clinking against the glass.

_Everyone's so quiet,_ I realized, sitting down on a white, plush chair. I crossed my legs over each other, leaning against the back of the chair.

"Are you guys always this quiet?" I asked, voicing my thoughts. All the adults were watching me, except for Tony, who was focused on his drink.

"No. Everyone is usually a lot louder," Steve replied. I looked over at him, noticing that he sat straight up without slouching or leaning against the back of the sofa. "They're probably just quiet because you're here."

"Thanks," I responded dryly, crossing my arms over my chest. The whole room went quiet besides the clinking of Tony's drink and a faint buzzing which must have come from the TV.

"Why did Fury ask you to be on the Avengers?" Bruce suddenly asked, breaking the silence. Everyone turned to look at him and he blushed slightly, but continued speaking. "I mean, like Steve said earlier, you don't look very threatening. No offence," he quickly added, giving me a sideways glance. I nodded, indicating that it was okay.

I personally didn't mind when people didn't think I was tough. It was the perfect way to take advantage of them, especially when a stupid SHIELD agent thought that he could take me down easily. That's why I had avoided the secret service for so long; all the agents sent after me always underestimated me. Well, all except Natasha. I only got away from her because a junior agent accidentally shot Natasha with a tranquilizer dart. It was aimed at me, but I jumped to the side at the last second.

"I don't know, why are _you_ on the team?" I raised my eyebrows, answering Bruce's question and asking one in return.

I noticed that the tension in the room rose as I asked the question. Uncrossing my arms and leaning forward slightly, I asked, "What?" I suppressed any other words, not wanting to seem rude in front of people I had just met.

"Well, Brucie boy here doesn't like talking about his... best friend," Tony said, not missing a beat. Confused, I looked over at Bruce.

Sighing, Bruce said, "It's a really long story."

"Well, seeing as I'm on your team now, I've got the time."

Bruce sighed again. "Alright. Well, I used to just be a scientist..."

Bruce's POV

"Well, seeing as I'm on your team now, I've got the time."

I sat on the couch in the common room of the Avengers Tower, looking at Crystal. She looked right back at me, her face waiting for my answer.

Inside, I was dreading to answer her question. I hated talking about myself, especially about... the Other Guy. Even thinking about him made him restless; I could feel him inside of me, eager to get out.

"Alright. Well, I used to just be a scientist," I started. "I was trying to recreate the super soldier serum that Howard Stark, Tony's dad, used on Steve. So I-"

"Wait, you're Captain America?" Crystal interrupted, uncrossing her legs and looking at Steve in disbelief.

"Yeah, why?" Steve asked slowly, leaning a little away from the girl.

Crystal resumed her original position crossing her arms and legs, leaning back against her chair. "No. It's nothing. Never mind," she replied quickly, smiling slightly. She turned to me. "Continue."

"Oh, uh, well, I was trying to recreate the serum and I thought gamma radiation might play a part in it, so I decided to give it a try." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Thor open his mouth to say something.

"My friends, you still have not informed me about this 'gamma radiation' that Mr. Banner speaks of so often." The enormous man had a questioning look on his face, as usual.

"Don't worry yourself over it, Point Break." Tony patted Thor's arm, taking a sip of his Scotch. "It's just confusing Earth stuff." The inventor smirked.

"'Earth stuff'?" Crystal asked, obviously confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, well," Tony started before I could say anything. "Muscles here is actually not from Earth. He's some fancy Greek God." He raised one of his eyebrows and grinned, as if this were the most interesting thing ever.

"He's a Norse God, Tony," I corrected him. Tony shrugged.

"Oh, I learned about that stuff," Crystal said. "In school, we studied Norse Mythology. My favorite's Loki." She grinned, pushing a strand of her brown-almost-black hair behind her ear.

"My brother?" Thor asked. "He is just mischievous."

"Yeah, I know," Crystal replied. "I mean, a guy who just bothers people and plays pranks on them? Sounds great. Bet he's a pain as a brother, though."

"Yes," Thor agreed. "Because we are both Gods, he never stops."

"I still think you're just an alien," Steve piped up, voicing his opinion. "I mean, there's only one God."

"Yeah," Crystal agreed, nodding. "I mean, I hate to break it to you, Thor, but you're just an alien with magic powers." Thor frowned, but didn't say anything. I didn't either, but inside, I was disappointed that he didn't. Their conversation was a good way to distract Crystal from the Other Guy. I didn't like talking about him or my past, it made me either uncomfortable, or long for the past, when there wasn't people constantly chasing after me. And for Betty. I missed her so much...

"So, you were saying?" I snapped out of my thoughts, looking over at Crystal. She had turned her attention back to me, an eager look on her face. "What's the gamma radiation do to you?" There must have been a confused look on her face, because she said, "Oh, come on. I'm not an idiot. Everyone knows that gamma radiation can kill you. But you're still alive, so there's gotta be something interesting about you."

"Oh, um well..." I didn't know what to say, it wasn't like there was a simple way to explain the Other Guy.

"I'm listening." Crystal stared at me, waiting for an answer. I opened my mouth, not sure what to say.

"Oh, for Pete's sake, just let me explain!" Tony exclaimed, impatient. That was the last thing I wanted, though. I made to stop him, but he beat me to it. "Basicly, when he get's angry, he loses his shirt and turns into an enormous, green rage monster that smashes stuff named Hulk." At the mention of his name, I could feel the Other Guy trying to get out, eager for freedom, but I calmed myself down enough to contain him. I could practically hear him sigh; he did not like being kept in.

"Cool!" Crystal exclaimed, her face lighting up. "Can I see?"

"No!" everyone protested, even Natasha, who had been silent the whole time. Crystal pouted, her eyebrows furrowing and her bottom lip sticking out slightly.

"Why not?"

I widened my eyes, exchanging looks with Steve. He was as equally shocked as I was; not one had ever seemed so interested in seeing a giant green monster. Well, except Tony. But he really didn't count. He just wanted to see how to get him out.

"Why not?" Steve asked incredulously. "Why would you want to see the Hulk destroy this tower?"

"It sounds awesome, that's why!" Crystal exclaimed, as though this was obvious. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Tony smirking into his Scotch.

"Mr. Banner's 'Other Guy', as he likes to call it, is in no way 'awesome'," Thor boomed, looking over at Crystal. "He is very strong and fierce and is the only person who can stand up to the might of the Mjölnir. However, he does make a worthy opponent."

"Good to know," Crystal replied, obviously not caring. "Can you guys at least show me a video of the Hulk? Please?" she pleaded.

"Sure," Tony spoke. "JARVIS, roll some footage."

"Yes, sir," JARVIS replied, his voice echoing around the room.

"Woah!" Crystal exclaimed. "That is so cool! What is it?"

Tony beamed, bragging, "That's JARVIS. He's an artificial intelligence that I built myself. You just ask him to do stuff, and he will. He's kind of like a housekeeper, except he doesn't really have a body."

"That is so cool!" Crystal repeated, looking up at the ceiling. "Hi, JARVIS."

"Hello, Ms. Lutz," JARVIS's cool, metallic voice replied.

"I still do not understand this 'JARVIS'," Thor spoke up, mirroring Crystal's movements. "Where does his voice come from?"

"Don't worry yourself over it, buddy," Tony said, patting the God on the arm. "You wouldn't get it even if I told you."

At that moment, a video of the Hulk popped up on the flat screen TV and the lights dimmed. The Hulk was jumping from building to building, taking out aliens as he went.

"What are those?" Crystal asked, pointing at the screen.

Thor, knowing what we were talking about, for once, answered, "Those are Chitauri, foul creatures from another planet that my brother used as an army to attack your world." Crystal nodded, her eyes glued to the screen.

On screen, I-well, the Hulk-had jumped onto one of the giant, flying monsters(I still didn't know what they were called), still fighting off aliens. Thor flew over, his hammer leading the way. The God landed on the monster and started to help the Hulk get rid of the aliens. Thor punched aliens with his hammer and electrocuted them while the Hulk smashed them besides the God.

As they fought, the Hulk pulled an alien off of its flying machines and smashed it into the giant monster. It spiraled to the ground, and landed with a huge _crash. _

Suddenly, the footage cut to a high building, where a sandy haired archer sat, firing arrows into aliens.

"I thought I would show footage of all of all the Avengers fighting," JARVIS announced. "I have footage of all six of you."

"Thanks, J," Tony replied.

"Who's that?" Crystal asked. I could practically hear the amazement in her voice. I agreed; even though I had seen the archer in action before, his skill still amazed me.

"Clint Barton," I heard Steve answer. "He's another SHIELD agent." As he said this, Clint fired an arrow backwards into an alien who was sneaking up on him.

"Wow..."

Nearly a dozen aliens attacked the SHIELD agent. He pulled arrows out of his quiver and shot them at the aliens faster than I had ever seen, hitting each one right in the eye. Arrow after arrow he shot, never missing his mark.

An alien jumped out in front of Clint, climbing up the side of the building he was perched on. The archer quickly shot his hand back to his quiver, but it was empty. I hadn't seen this footage before; when I Hulked out, I never remembered a thing.

Clint whipped around and lunged at a dead alien, grabbing the arrow out of its eye socket. He turned around, knocking the alien out of the way and climbing off the edge of the building. He knocked the arrow into his bow and jumped off the building.

I could hear Crystal gasp, but kept my eyes trained on the TV. As Clint fell from the building, he pulled back the bowstring and shot the arrow up.

The camera went fuzzy for a few moments before more footage showed up. Steve-well, Captain America- and Natasha were fighting off aliens, Captain America with his shield, Natasha with guns and hand-to-hand combat. Aliens were advancing at all and the two started to fight them off.

Soon, the two had fought them all off and had stopped. Cap said something that the camera picked up, and Natasha replied. She looked up, and then said something else. Cap nodded, then ran back to a wall and crouched down, his red, white, and blue shield in front of him. Natasha spoke, waited for a moment, then took off running. She ran at Cap, who hoisted her up as she jumped onto his shield.

The screen cut to another part of the battle, the only one that I remembered. I had just transformed into the Hulk and, as it approached, punched one of the giant, flying monsters. Tony, as Iron Man, flew alongside the monster, looking for a weak spot in the monster's armor. Eventually, a pink, fleshy spot opened up and was exposed. Iron Man hovered in the air before putting his hands out and shooting energy from his repulsors at the monster, along with dozens of other missiles. The monster let out an enormous roar before crashing to the ground.

The screen went black and the lights in the room became brighter, the room lighting up. I turned my gaze away from the screen and over to Crystal, everyone else following my actions.

The girl was still staring at the screen, her lips parted and her face of amazement and disbelief. She had leaned forward, her neck sticking out, sitting on the edge of her seat. She quickly noticed that everyone was staring at her and leaned back in her seat.

After a few moments of opening and closing her mouth, debating on what to say, she merely said, "Wow."

"Wow?" Tony repeated, slightly upset. "That all you have to say? Wow? I think I deserve more than a-" He was quickly shut up when Steve elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow..."

Crystal ignored the inventor and looked around at all of us. Her gaze zipped past Natasha and Steve, moving over Thor and Tony, landing right on me. She was silent for a moment before saying, "You should get elastic pants." My cheeks instantly turned red, heat rising to my face. Tony snickered.

"What?" Crystal asked. "I mean, if he had pants that could stretch out, then whenever he became the Hulk and then un-became the Hulk and turned back into Bruce, his pants wouldn't be all ruined." Tony snickered again, this time looking over at me.

"Um, thanks for the suggestion," I mumbled, not sure what else to say. Tony laughed, this time full out. The rest of the team was giving him weird looks as if he had gone crazy.

"What?" Crystal asked, clearly confused. "I just thought that- you know what? Never mind." The girl sat back in her chair, her eyes occasionally flicking over at Tony.

"So, now that we've show you why we're on the team," Steve said after a moment of silence, "Why are you on it?"

"Invisibility and healing powers." Crystal shrugged, as if this was no big deal, but it completely shocked me.

"Invisibility? But that's impossible!" Tony exclaimed, mirroring me thoughts. "And healing powers?" Crystal nodded.

"Are you sure?" Steve asked, concerned.

Crystal sighed. "I'm not crazy, Steve." I looked over at the soldier. He looked just as shocked as anyone else in the room. Tony looked absolutely appalled, while Thor looked a little shocked, but not as much as I felt. Natasha's face betrayed none of her thoughts, as usual. She probably already knew about this, however, being a SHIELD agent and all.

"Prove it," Tony suddenly said, crossing his arms. "I wanna see."

I expected Crystal to protest, but she just shrugged and said, "Okay." She stood up, studied the white chair she was sitting on for a moment, and then sat back down. She took a deep breath, and, without letting it out, she squeezed her eyes shut.

Nothing happened.

I stared at Crystal, my teammates around me doing the same thing. I waited, but nothing happened, as I expected.

Invisibility is impossible. There is no way to become invisible, nor will there ever be a way. You can only blend in with your surrounding, but that's only with the Helicarrier and chameleons. There is no way humans can ever do that. Even Tony has no idea how to do it. It is and always will be a mystery. And I was just about to say all that out loud when something happened.

Crystal vanished.

She actually vanished! Her whole body disappeared, leaving the white chair behind, no traces that she was ever there.

I felt my jaw drop, and imagined that my friends were doing the same around me. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I rubbed my eyes, thinking that I was imagining things, and looked back at Crystal. Rather, where Crystal _should_ have been sitting. The only thing in front of me was the large, white chair.

Crystal's POV

"Prove it. I wanna see." Tony stared at me and crossed his arms. I expected this; no one would ever believe that I was invisible unless they saw me.

I shrugged. "Okay." I saw the surprise on Tony's face; he clearly wasn't expecting me to agree so easily. No one ever did.

I smirked ever so slightly while I stood up and turned around to look at the chair I had been sitting in. I felt slightly awkward, feeling the stares of the adults in room on the back of my head. Trying to ignore them, I looked at the chair.

I quickly sat back down before someone could ask me what I was doing. I squeezed my eyes shut, mustering all my energy. In my mind, I imagined the white chair I was sitting on, my shoulders tensing up. I thought of every crease, every crack in the chair, my photographic memory making it easy.

A warm, familiar feeling washed over me, dousing my whole body with warmth. I relaxed my shoulders, feeling calm and focused. As I opened my eyes, I saw the Avengers' shocked faces. I smirked subconsciously; I loved seeing peoples' reactions to when I turned invisible. Some freaked out, some denied what they were seeing, but my favorite was when they just sat there, with stupid looks on their faces, dumbfounded.

Steve and Bruce went with the third option. The men sat, their mouths open in shock. I let a grin slip onto my face.

I looked over at Natasha. She sat, expressionless as usual. She had already seen my little trick, though, so that didn't surprise me. Next to the agent, Thor looked a little shocked, but not too much. I wondered why.

Tony, however, stood up and started saying, "What the- How did- You ca-" He struggled for words. "That's not possible!" He finally yelled. "You can't just turn invisible! It's scientifically impossible! Trust me, I've tried." The inventor stared at where I had previously been, shocked.

"Well, believe it, buddy," I replied, my voice speaking without a body. Tony stumbled back as if he had received a punch to the stomach. He looked shocked, as well as the other adults in the room.

_Oops_, I thought, breaking my focus and feeling the warm feeling escape my body. I made a mental note not to talk when I was invisible. _Creeps people out_.

"Now do you believe me?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. Tony glared at me, and I grinned.

He was so easy.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or Loki or SHIELD. I only own Crystal and the plot. **

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Crystal's POV

"_You will be residing on the 84th floor in the third room on the right," _JARVIS informed me as I stood in the spacious elevator or Avengers Towers.

"Thanks, JARVIS," I responded, pushing the button for floor 84. The elevator gave a jerk and then started descending.

"_You're welcome, Miss Lutz." _

I chuckled. "It's just Crystal." At that moment, a huge boom erupted from somewhere in the tower, causing the elevator to shake. I put my hands out on the walls of the elevator to brace myself.

As soon as the shaking died down, I asked JARVIS, "What was that?"

"_I believe that that was Mr. Stark,"_ the artificial intelligence answered.

"What?!" I asked in disbelief. "How did Tony do that?" The elevator doors gave a _ding_ and slid open. I straightened up and walked out into a hallway that looked similar to the one on the top floor, but longer and with doors on either side.

"_I believe that he was trying out one of his new 'inventions'." _I could practically hear the computer using air quotes. I grinned. "_Unfortunately, it has... malfunctioned and exploded in the kitchen."_

I walked down the hall, counting doors until I reached the third. Looking up at the ceiling, I said, "You act like this happens on a daily basis."

"_Well, not on a daily basis, but quite frequently," _JARVIS answered with a bit of sass. I laughed.

"Well, that does sound like Tony." I put my hand on the doorknob, not knowing what to expect, and turned it. Pushing open the door, I gasped, amazed at what I saw before me.

A large, spacious room the size of a small, school classroom was laid out before me. A large window was covered by a white shade, sunlight leaking through. Next to the window was a queen-sized bed with white covers and large, white pillows. Opposite the bed, pushed up against the wall, a brown, wood dresser sat. There were four drawers and two selves on the dresser. On the wall next to the window, two wooden doors stood, both closed. A large chandelier hung above a white, shag carpet. Other than the bed and dresser, the room was empty.

_I can't believe this is all mine. _I slipped off my Converse and walked into the room, feeling the soft carpet beneath my feet. I looked around the room, taking in every detail and strode over to the two closed doors.

Opening the first one, I saw a dark room. I slid my hand along the inside wall until I found a light switch. I flicked it on to see an empty, walk-in closet.

I turned the light off and moved on to the next room. It was a simple, roomy bathroom. There was a toilet, a counter with a sink and drawers, a mirror, a shower, and a bathtub. All of them were white, minus the counter drawers

_A lot of white,_ I thought as I walked in, my bare feet slapping against the slick tiles. _Standard color._ I walked over to the counter and looked through the drawers. They were all empty.

I walked back out into the bedroom and sat down on the bed, looking around the room, smiling.

The room may not have seemed impressive, but it was for a girl who has lived in a foster home her whole life. I had never had a big room at Franklin; actually, I had never had my _own _room. I always shared one with Kitty and two other girls.

"_Mr. Stark would like to apologize. He didn't know that you would be housing here, so this was the best he could do on such short notice," _JARVIS announced, his voice cutting through the silence.

"No," I replied, glancing up at the ceiling. "It's fine." I furrowed my brows, feeling a little silly for talking to the ceiling. I dropped my gaze, looking at the dresser. "It's okay."

"_Director Fury has already made arrangements with your old foster home. He has told them that Mr. Stark adopted you,"_ JARVIS said. I internally groaned. Miss Carter, the woman who ran Franklin, always told all the kids about when people were adopted. Which means that, if Tony is really as famous as he says he is, everyone will know that I'm now the 'daughter' of a multi-billionaire.

"Thanks, JARVIS," I responded.

"_Also, arrangements have been made for an agent to pick up your belongings and bring them back here,"_ JARVIS added, his metallic voice filling the room.

"Okay." But after a moment, I changed my mind. "Actually, could I go get them myself?"

"_Of course," _JARVIS said. "_I will inform Director Fury."_

"Okay. Thanks, JARVIS."

"_Your welcome." _I stood up and walked to the door. I slipped my shoes back on and pulled open the door, but stopped myself, thinking of something. I jammed my hands into the pockets of my Northface, finding a pencil and an old paper with the numbers 3-7-00 on them. I walked over to the dresser and flipped over the scrap of paper.

"JARVIS?"

"_Yes?" _

I poised my pencil, ready to write. "What floor's the kitchen on?"

* * *

**Hey, guys! I decided that I'm going to be doing the author's notes at the bottom of the chapter! Yea! **

**So, this was sort of a filler chapter. Not much to say about it. Oh, so, a few people were asking about Clint. Don't worry, he'll show up eventually. He's just off on a mission in Brussels. But, that's it! So, leave a review if you want, I love hearing your opinions. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or Loki or SHIELD. I only own Crystal and the plot. **

* * *

Crystal's POV

I walked into the elevator, the piece of paper clasped in my hand. The doors slid closed and I check the piece of paper. _Kitchen: Floor 85_. I pushed the button for floor 85 and the elevator jerked upwards. I needed to write where everything was; there was no way I could keep straight all the floors of the tower in my head.

I tapped my foot impatiently, waiting for the elevator to stop. The clock back in my room had told me that it was nearly 5:30, and my stomach agreed, so I decided to head up to the kitchen.

The elevator gave a _ding_ and the doors slid open, revealing a spacious room with a kitchen and dining room. I strode over to the kitchen, seeing that it was empty, and looked around.

It was fully furnished, complete with a fridge, stove, oven, microwave, dishwasher, sink, and pantry. I strode over to the fridge and opened it, examining all the food inside. Nothing caught my interest immediately, so I closed it and walked towards the pantry. A breadbox sat on the counter next to the pantry. I opened it, seeing dozens of different types of breads.

_Well, I guess that's what you get when you live with Tony's_, I thought, rummaging through the types of bread. I pulled out an almost-empty bag of 'Pocket Thins'. I studied them, lookinging inside the bag. There was a half-circle of of flat bread. It was split open the the middle, so to put food in it.

I shrugged, closing the bread box, and moving over to the fridge again. I pulled out an egg and placed it on the marble counter, along with the bread. I poked around in some of the draws until I found a small pan. Hoisting it out of the draw it was in, I turned to the stove.

In a few minutes, I had managed to figure out how to work the stove and had started cooking my egg. Standing by the stove, I started to hum a songless tune, bouncing up and down a little. My egg sizzled on the stove, the smell filling the large kitchen of the Avengers Tower.

My thoughts slipped to the Avengers and SHIELD and how director Fury seemed to want me so much on the team. I mean, sure, I was kinda powerful, but compared to the team, I was nothing. I didn't see how I could help the Avengers, they seemed pretty capable on their own, but there was no way I was backing out now. For starters, being on this team was probably more interesting than living at Franklin, so I wouldn't _want_ to leave. Plus, if I backed out now, it would look like I was too scared to be on the team. And there was no was I was letting that happen.

Even to a bunch of adults I just met, I couldn't seem scared. Then, they'd just think I was a little, harmless girl who just wanted to get out of their foster home, rather that the snarky, sarcastic, bulletproof mask I had worked so hard to form. If they did, I'd never be able to live that down.

As I turned off the stove and slid my egg onto a plate, along with my bread, and walked over to the kitchen island to eat. I took a bite, my thoughts still on the Avengers. The was absolutely no way I could let the Avengers think I was just some little kid. I mean, I wasn't as powerful as Iron Man or Hulk, but I could be just as brave of useful. And you could be sure as heck that I would prove that.

As I chewed my egg, another thought crossed my mind. Could I actually prove that? What if I actually _was_ a little harmless girl who just wanted to get out of their foster home, and I wasn't worth fighting with the Avengers.

_No._ I quickly shook that thought out of my head. I finished my egg and put the dish in the sink, determined to not think. I twisted the knob on the faucet and a stream of cool water came out, washing over the plate. I leaned towards the stove and picked up the pan and transferring it to the sink, planning to wash it off as well, when it slipped from my grasp, knocked against my left leg and hit the floor with a loud _bang_.

"Ah!" I hissed, tightening my fists in pain. I quickly picked the pan up and placed it back on a cool burner, then limped over to the island seat. My leg burned as I swung it up on my knee to inspect it.

There was a small burn a few inches below my knee. It stung. A lot. A hiss escaped through my clenched teeth as I laid my fingers over the burn. With a grimace on my face, I squeezed my eyes closed and felt a rush of energy roll over me. I opened my eyes to see my leg with no burn perfectly healed.

"Wow." I whipped around at the sound of a sarcastic complement to see Tony, with a drink, and Steve standing in the doorway to the kitchen. The genius smirked. "Impressive, Amber."

"Excuse me?" I asked, too confused to be bothered that he was actually insulting me. Steve looked confused as well.

Tony, however, looked as though this was obvious. "You know: Crystal. Amber." I stared at him. "Like, an amber's a crystal."

We were all silent for a moment before Steve spoke up and said, "What?"

Tony looked appalled. "You don't get it?"

"I get it," I answered, crossing my arms. "It's just not very clever. And were you spying on me?" Steve turned red and started to protest, but Tony beat him to it.

"Spying's for kids," he replied, taking a sip of what looked like scotch. "I was just observing you without being seen."

"So, spying?" I raised my eyebrow and set my hands on my hips.

"Hey," Tony started, making the universal 'not-my-problem' gesture. "Capsicle, was spying on you first."

I turned to the super soldier and said, "You know that stalking is frowned upon in this society, right?" Tony sniggered.

"I was not- I didn't- I just came in here to get some food!" Steve fumbled with words, his cheeks turning red. I laughed, moving to put the pan from my egg in the sink. More carefully this time, of course.

"It's alright, Cap," I chuckled, running water over the pan. "I'm just joking." Steve tried to give a little laugh, but it sounded stressed and nervous, his neck still red. I smirked to myself.

"_Mr. Stark, Code Green,"_ JARVIS announced, his metallic voice cutting through the air.

"Thanks, buddy," Tony replied, downing the last of his scotch and heading towards the elevator.

"What's Code Green?" I asked, turning the sink water off. I shook my hands, water droplets flying off.

"None of your business, kid," Tony replied without even glancing back at me. He pressed a button on the elevator and it started to rise to our floor.

"Stop calling me kid," I called to him, wiping my hands on the dishtowel. The elevator stopped at our floor and opened.

Tony smirked, stepping into the elevator. "Not a chance." The doors slid close and started descending. I turned away from the elevator and noticed that Steve was still in the room. The redness in his cheek had gone down, though it was still noticeable. I bit my lip to keep from smiling.

"Need something?" I asked, throwing the empty bread bag in the garbage. Steve jerked up, apparently deep in thought, and shook his head.

"Uh, no." He was silent for a minute before asking, "So, you can really heal people?"

"Well, I just did, didn't I?" I replied smoothly, used to the amazed reaction Steve had. The soldier gave a nervous laugh, clearly uncomfortable.

"How big of a wound can you heal?" Steve asked.

"To tell you the truth," I answered, "I don't really know. I mean, I can do cuts and bruises and burns and stuff like that. I did a black eye once, but I've never tried anything bigger than that." I pushed a strand of my dark hair behind my ear. "Why?"

"Uh, no reason," Steve answered, quickly. "Just wondering." I nodded, my fingers awkwardly playing with the hem of my shirt.

"Well, if you don't need me for anything, then I'm going to go check the rest of the tower." I strode off towards the elevator without waiting for Steve's reaction, wanting to leave the awkward situation.

I reached the elevator and pushed the down button. The doors ground open, and I walked inside, pressing the close door button. As soon as they closed, I pulled the scrap of paper out of my pocket. I was looking through the floors, debating on which floor to go to, when a huge roar erupted from somewhere in the tower. I gave a little shriek as the elevator shaft shook, knocking me to the ground.

Soon, the shaking stopped, I stood up, fixing my jacket which has slipped off my shoulder when I fell.

"What the-" I was cut off as another roar erupted, but this time, I stayed standing. Frowning, I looked down at the scrap of paper clutched in my hand. I leaned forward and pushed an elevator button, planning on investigating what the roar had come from.

* * *

**Alright, guys. You got a little insight into Crystal. Yea! And what was Code Green? Well, you guys probably figure it out, but for those who haven't, you'll have to wait and see! **

**Okay, so next week, I'm going to camp! Yea! Except then, I won't be able to write, so it may be awhile before the next chapter. Sorry, guys. **

**Leave a review, or whatever if you want. **

**-Laura**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or Loki or SHIELD. I only own Crystal and the plot.**

* * *

Crystal's POV

_Labs: Floor 81._ I leaned over and pushed the button for floor 81, the elevator giving a jerk and starting to descend. I heard another roar and I frowned.

_What the heck is that?_ I assumed it was coming from the labs; that was the only place it would make sense to come from.

_Ding._ The doors slid open, revealing a short hallway, the walls made of glass. On one side, there was a large, neat-yet-messy lab. Papers and microscopes and half finished projects were scattered around on the lab tables. A mug of coffee long past cold was sitting on top of a stack of papers by an up and running computer. Science-y equipment that I didn't know the name of sat everywhere in the lab. On one of the walls, eleven Iron Man suits stood in glass cases. Obviously Tony's lab.

I turned to the other glass window and saw another large lab, but this time, it was ruined. Papers were laying everywhere on the floor. Broken microscopes and projects lay ruined on the floor. A smashed computer was scattered on the lab table and floor.

I walked over to the door, which had been left open. Carefully, I stepped into the room. It smelled like a mixture of stale coffee, chemicals, and something burning. Wrinkling my nose, I pulled my shirt over my nose to block out the stench. It didn't help.

Stepping around the broken projects and tattered papers, I looked around the lab, wondering my the room was so ruined. I mean, this was obviously Bruce's lab, but he didn't seem the type to leave a mess. I imagined he would keep everything neat and in place, not broken and thrown all over the floor. Unless _Code Green_ had anything to do with it.

Turning my head to look more around the lab, I noticed something I hadn't noticed before. A large metal door, probably three times the height of me, with a red flashing light over it. A small, black button was on the right of the door. I furrowed my eyebrows, striding over to the door.

"'Red flashing light. Means something bad'," I quoted. "'Get out of here fast? Or possibly, whatever you do, don't open this door.'" I leaned forward and pushed the button. The door slid open with a loud grinding noise, revealing a white room. Well, that was as much as I could see from my stance in front of the door.

"'Bad idea'," I whispered under my breath, despite the emptyness. Stepping into the room, I continued, "Clara Oswin Oswald. Season seven, episode..." I trailed off, as I looked around the room. A huge green figure-and I mean _huge_-sat with it's back to me. Creeping closer, I started to recognize the figure. I gasped.

The figure turned it's head and look at me. Two small, dark eyes were squinted, as if he couldn't properly see me. A shaggy mess of black hair sat atop his head. I widened my eyes, blinking.

"Uh..."

"Hey, kid, what are you doing here?" Tony poked his head out from behind the giant green... person.

"Uh..." I stuttered, not sure what to say.

"Speechless, huh? Yeah, I have that effect on people." Tony smirked, pretending to flip his hair. "Well, you got what you wanted."

"Huh?"

"You wanted to meet Hulk? Well, here he is," Tony explained, walking out from behind the green guy. "Crystal, meet Hulk." The green guy, Hulk, looked at me. I gave a little wave, awkward. "Hulk, meet Crystal. Don't worry. He's not usually this mellow. Just spilled some life threatening chemicals on him. Not a big deal."

I nodded. "Uh, cool." We stood there for a few moments, in silence, until I spoke up. "Uh, so, if you don't need me or anything, I'm just gonna leave." I turned around, not waiting for anyone's answer, and strode out of the room. Speed-walking to the elevator, I furrowed my brows, thinking.

_Well, now I know what Code Green is._

* * *

**Hi guys!**

**Sorry it took so long to get up. Like I said, I was at camp for a week. And sorry about the short chapter. I was scrambling to get it up. **

**Oh, by the way, for those of you who haven't seen it yet, I've written an Avengers one-shot. If you could check it out, I would love you forever! Thank you!**

**So, I hoped you guys liked it! Please tell me what you thought, I love hearing your opinions! **

**-Laura**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or Loki or SHIELD. I only own Crystal and the plot. **

* * *

Crystal's POV

"_Where is he?" A low, monstrous, male voice asked. It was dark. I could only make out two tall figures. They looked blue from the blue light in the room. I didn't know where it came from. Trying to turn, I found I couldn't move. _

"_We suspect that the enemy has taken him," another voice replied, also a man. I wondered who they were talking about. I opened my mouth to say something, finding that I had no mouth. Well, I did. I could feel it. It was like I was there, but not physically. _

"_Without him," the first voice started, "There will be no heir to the throne." Then, he said something I couldn't understand. It sounded like... _growling_. The hairs stood up on the back of my neck. I swallowed, feeling a large bump in my throat. _

_The man-hopefully he was a man, I still couldn't make out more than a tall figure-kept growling, contorting his voice into strange, inhuman noises. _

_Suddenly, he switched back to English. I was thankful that he stopped, but worried. Why had he come back to English? _

"_Talk to him," The first voice said, his rough voice sending chills up my spine. "Talk to him,_ now_, and tell him. Tell him that-"_

I opened my eyes, bright sunlight filling my vision. Sitting up, I felt my large bed shifting underneath me, the large pillows all strew across the bed, some on the floor. I sat for a moment before falling back on my bed, still drowsy with sleep.

I tried to remember my dream. I was fading from me, fast, like all my dreams did. But this one was different. Something about it seemed... _important_. Like it was real.

_It was just a dream_, I told my self, sitting back up and swinging my legs over the edge of my bed. Stretching my arms, I stumbled out of bed. My feet dragged as I walked towards my dresser, noticing that on top sat an outfit. I picked up the shirt and examined it. It was a plain green, short sleeved t-shirt. There was a pair of jean shorts underneath. Next to the outfit, there was a hairbrush, a white toothbrush and tube of toothpaste.

"_Ms. Potts took the liberty of getting the tools to fulfill your basic needs until you retrieve your things from Franklin," _JARVIS announced, cutting through the silence.

I looked up at the ceiling. "Who's Ms. Potts?"

"_Tony's personal secretary and CEO of Stark Industries,"_ JARVIS answered as I walked to the bathroom to change.

"Oh, well, that was nice of her. I mean, we haven't even met yet."

I padded down the hall to the kitchen, retying my dark hair with a rubber band. I turned the corner to the kitchen and saw three men, Tony, Steve, and a tall, muscular, sandy-haired man, sitting at the island, all except Tony with their backs to me.

"Hey, look, Sunshine's up," Tony exclaimed, setting down his coffee cup. Steve and the other man turned towards me.

"Hey," I said, cautiously, strolling into the kitchen. I looked at the sandy-haired man, realizing that it was the Clint archer guy from the battle. He stared back at me with an unreadable expression. I shifted uncomfortably, flicking my eyes away from him.

"You look familiar."

"Uh... thanks?" I replied, unsure of what to say.

"Uh, Clint, this is Crystal Lutz," Steve piped up, leaning around Tony to introduce me. "She's a new member of our team. Crystal, this is Clint Barton."

"A new member?" Clint exclaimed angrily, turning to look at Steve and Tony. "We don't need a new member!"

"Hey, talk to Fury about that," Tony replied, taking a sip of coffee. "It was his idea."

"She's not that bad," Steve put in, trying to calm Clint down.

"How can _she_ help?" Clint asked, clearly upset. "She's just a kid!" I frowned, getting irritated.

_Hey, quit talking about me when I'm right here!_ I yelled in my head. _And I am_ not '_just a kid'._ I felt anger flame up inside of me at the archer. You can't just go around talking about people as if they weren't there.

The boys continued talking, acting like I wasn't there. I furrowed my brows angrily, an idea popping in my head. Before I could think about it, I closed my eyes, a warm feeling spreading over my body. I opened up my eyes looking down at my hand. Invisible.

Looking back up at them men, I saw that they had stopped talking and were now staring at me. Or rather, _not_ me. I let a grin spread across my face.

"Where'd she go?" Clint asked, confused. Tony and Steve exchanged glances and groaned. Clint turned towards them. "What?"

"She turned invisible."

"Yeah right." Clint rolled his eyes. "Seriously, where is she?" I grinned silently stepping backwards as the men stepped forward.

"I'm not kidding," Steve insisted, his eyes searching the room. "She can turn invisible." I watched as Steve thrust his hand forward, three feet away from where I was standing. Clint crossed his arms and sighed.

"You guys are crazy. For real, this time," he said. Suddenly, still holding his cup of coffee, Tony flung his arm out. His coffee, still steaming hot by the looks of it, flew out of it's mug, aimed right towards me. I inhaled sharply, side stepping the hot liquid at the last second.

_Oh, you did _not _just throw hot coffee at me_,I mouthed angrily. Furious, I stepped over the coffee puddle and started creeping around to the back of the men.

"Tony, what are you- Wait. Who was that?" Clint asked, obviously hearing my gasp. He looked between Tony and Steve who had raised their eyebrows.

"Told ya."

I stood behind the Avengers as they turned their heads, looking for me. I held my hands up, positioning them so they were hovering right behind the men's shoulders.

Thrusting my hands forward, I made contact with the Avengers, pushing them forwards and yelling at the same time. They stumbled forward, yelping in surprise, Steve falling on the ground. I grinned, letting my hands fall to my sides, relaxing and letting myself go visible again.

"What the-" Tony whipped around to see a wide grin spread across my face. Inside, however, I was mentally scolding myself. I just irritated a super soldier, Iron Man, and one of the best SHIELD agents. Probably not my best idea ever.

_Think before you do something stupid next time!_ I scolded myself. Looking over at Clint, I saw that he was helping Steve up while glaring at me.

"Do ya believe me now?" I asked, crossing my arms. Clint scowled at me, while Steve gave a loud sigh.

"You know," he started, dusting himself off. "You're more mischievous than Tony." I opened my mouth to reply, but Tony beat me to it.

"What do you mean?" Tony wailed, seemingly upset. "I'm plenty mischievous!" I raised an eyebrow, smiling. Tony seemed genuinely upset that Steve thought that I was 'more mischievous' than him.

"I'm at war with Natasha!" Tony continued, trying to prove his point. Confused, I glanced over at Clint, who was rolling his eyes. "How is that not mischievous?!"

"Tony! I've told you: no prank wars!"

I turned my head at the sound of a soft, yet firm female voice. A tall, strawberry blonde woman in a black, formal dress strolled into the kitchen. She was holding a clipboard and folders in her arms, her black high heels _click_ing and _clack_ing against the tile floor.

"It disrupts everyone else in the tower, _and_ looks bad for business." She stopped and gave Tony a disapproving look before noticing me. "Oh, hello. You must be Crystal. I'm Pepper Potts, but you can just call me Pepper." She stuck out her hand and I shook it, smiling at her.

"Hello."

Pepper smiled warmly until she noticed the puddle of Tony's still hot coffee. "Tony!" She pointed at the puddle. Tony started to protest.

"But I was just-"

"Clean it up!"

Tony opened his mouth to argue, but quickly closed it when Pepper gave him a death look. He gave a large sigh. "Yes, Pepper."

I opened my mouth, surprised. Did Pepper just shut Tony up? He didn't even put up a fight. I knew that never happened, and I had only been living with them for one night. He and Pepper must have a complicated relationship. Or, a _relationship_ relationship. Either way, I respected her.

* * *

**Hi guys! Back from the dead! **

**Sorry it took me so long to update(as usual). I got writers block for a while and then it was the end of summer, so I wanted to make the most of it. Then, I had to do school stuff and then I went to Michigan to visit family and today was my first day of school. It went fine, if you were wondering, even though you probably weren't. **

**Anyways, sorry again. I've got a lot planned for this story, so I'd love it if you could stick around, even when I don't update. Although, I'm not making you if you don't want, but I'd really like it... **

**Anyways, tell me what you think! Any guesses to what the dream was at the beginning? Or why Clint thought Crystal looked familiar? Or anything at all? **

**Sorry, I'm done now. See ya! **

**-Laura **


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